


somehow escape the burning wait

by lemonyellowlogic



Series: all you have is your fire and the place you need to reach [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Gen, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, The Wani Crew really care about their awkward little prince, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but he'll learn soon enough, zuko still doesn't understand how and why people care about him unfortunately
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26209588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonyellowlogic/pseuds/lemonyellowlogic
Summary: All of the crew looked shocked, and Zuko’s shoulders hunched, fingernails digging into his skin, “If you agree with my father and his decision, you may leave the ship now. We will leave you at the closest port with your salary and belongings if you chose.”He swallowed, nervousness creeping up his throat, “But, if you stay, we have a new objective.”--zuko tells the wani crew his plan.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jee & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: all you have is your fire and the place you need to reach [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799935
Comments: 22
Kudos: 272





	somehow escape the burning wait

The banished prince’s heart beat nervously in his chest as he walked into the hull of the ship, where all of the crew had gathered. There was a little over ten men and women all standing there, awaiting his words.

His lips pursed into a tight line as he looked at all of them. They looked back at him before bowing with the flame in their hands, some more reluctantly than others but they all did it. A small smile grew on Zuko’s lips at the sight.

He'd never gotten along with them before, not that he'd blame them for being annoyed with him, but still, seeing them give him any semblance of respect make him feel like he was making the right decision.

He cleared his throat and rose a hand, the crew watching him and rising from their bows. Zuko’s eyes looked to his uncle, who smiled softly at him, and Zuko let out a deep breath, a faint plume of smoke following it.

“I’m aware that you all know of my decision to...pause our mission, correct?” His voice was as raspy as ever, but he didn’t yell like usual, speaking to them as people.

A few of the crew nodded, but most just waiting for him to continue, and Zuko crossed his arms, looking almost to protect himself.

“Well, until further notice, that decision is permanent. We are not going to capture the avatar even if we do find him.”

Few of the crew looked shocked or confused, but Jee and the younger crew, only a few years older than Zuko, looked relieved.

One of them, Juni, Zuko remembered, slowly rose a hand. Zuko’s eyebrow quirked, and he waved towards her to ask her question.

“Pardon me, my prince, but why?”

Zuko pursed his lips, back tense, “I...well.” He looked at Iroh, who nodded at him to con. Zuko trusted his uncle, more than anything, so he forced himself to spit ut the truth.

“Well, I...recently learned of the truth behind my...exile, that I wasn’t to return and the idea of capturing the Avatar was simply..a wild tortoise-goose chase. The Fire Lord was wrong to scorn me, and I will not follow his orders.”

All of the crew looked shocked, and Zuko’s shoulders hunched, fingernails digging into his skin, “If you agree with my father and his decision, you may leave the ship now. We will leave you at the closest port with your salary and belongings if you chose.”

He swallowed, nervousness creeping up his throat, “But, if you stay, we have a new objective.”

Crew members looked at each other, confusion in all of their gazes but excitement and relief as well. Lieutenant Jee looked at Zuko, and grinned, “We’re staying here, Prince Zuko. By your side, until you no longer desire us there.”

He was thrown, taking a step back in shock, “What?”

An older crew member, Goto, took a step forward from the others and bowed towards Zuko with a soft smile on his face. Zuko remembered him as being the one who often played pai sho with his uncle and never had gotten annoyed at Zuko n matter how much he yelled.

“My prince, we made an oath to serve you. That oath has not ended, and will last until I die.”

“I...I don’t understand, you’ll all e betraying your Nation for this.”

Lee nodded, “Sure. How could we stand for a Nation that doesn’t even treasure its citizens?”

The crew and murmured affirmatives to his statement, and the cook, Akiko smiled at him. She’d always been nice to Zuko, having used to work at the castle when he was a kid. She’d quit after Zuko’s mother disappeared after her own children convinced her to, but then followed Zuko to the ship after his banishment.

“We’ll be here as your crew, Prince Zuko, when you need us.”

Lieutenant Jee clapped Zuko’s shoulder, standing next to him, and Zuko jumped at the contact. Jee removed his hand, and nodded slightly, “Now, what do you need from us? What’s the next objective, Prince Zuko?”

Zuko’s jaw was wide open, and he closed it as soon as he realized it, but he was still shocked. He’d...he’d treated the crew badly for years, but still, they stood by his side. They believed him when he told them of the mission being filled with lies, and stood with him. Why? 

Zuko took a breath, and smiled gratefully to the crew, bowing slightly towards them, “Thank you, I..I can’t explain to any of you how...Thank you.”

The crew bowed deeply back, many with smiles on their faces, and those without still looked relieved.

Zuko cleared his throat, “Now, the new objective. We’ll be aiding the Avatar, but we cannot let the fact that we've changed sides go out, as the news will quickly spread to cities, and then to Zhao, the Nation, and then the Fire Lord. We’ll all be quickly captured and charged with treason, killed.”

The crew paled, and Zuko continued, pushing forwards, “But, what will happen is that I myself will join the Avatar. How, I can not tell you, but know I will be able to pass on information. The Wani will follow us as we travel, and I will return every week or so to trade information.”

The crew nodded in affirmation, and Juni spoke up again, “Will you be safe, Zuko?”

Zuko was thrown at not only the question, but also being referred to by his crew without his title as prince. He didn't...he wasn't mad at the title drop, he found surprisingly. It made him...feel like a person instead of a leader, like the crew and he were equals, and he liked that.

He gnawed on his lip, and shrugged minutely, “I'm not sure, however, I’ll be fine regardless. Do you all accept the objective?”

Jee nodded for all of them, looked over the crew at Zuko’s side, exchanging a smile with Iroh, who stood on the other side of Zuko.

“We do, my prince.”

“Just...Just Zuko is fine. We’re all...we’re all treasonous anyway, titles don’t matter.”

The crew laughed, but they nodded, and Jee grinned at him, “Alright, Zuko then. When will you leave us?”

Zuko took a breath, “As soon as possible, I know where the Avatar and his crew are as we speak, and I need to find them before they leave again. Follow the bison.”

Iroh spoke, “We will, my nephew. Be safe, we’ll be there when you need us.”

Zuko smiled at his uncle before bowing to his crew, “Thank you for following me, I will see you all again...soon.”

Juni and Lee waved at him, grinning, “Stay safe!”

Zuko reddened, and he waved his hand, turning away and out of the hull of the ship and into the hallway leading to the outside of the ship, where he let out a deep sigh as his nerves escaped him. His uncle stood behind him, a proud smile on his face.

“That was good, my nephew.”

Zuko flinched, not knowing his uncle followed him, but gave him back a small shy smile back, “Thank you.”

Iroh gave him a crushing hug, and the prince turned a bright red with embarrassment but hugged his uncle back.

“Are you sure you can’t stay any longer?”

Zuko pulled back, a determined look on his face, “I’m positive, Uncle. My destiny...I have to do this.”

“Then go, my dear nephew.”

Zuko nodded, turning back to his cabin to get his change of clothes, but he paused in his footsteps, “Uncle?”

“Yes, Prince Zuko?”

Zuko smiled, his uncle had always been the only one to go out of his way to use his correct title. He never knew why, maybe to show Zuko he still saw him as a prince or maybe because he just saw it fit, but Zuko thinks he still likes it.

“Can you take care of them, of the crew? I don’t want...I don’t want to get hurt because of me.”

Iroh smiled, his eyes filled with pride as he walked towards his nephew, “I will, my nephew. I am so proud of you for doing this.”

Zuko stiffened, and his eyes burned. He looked away, and Iroh pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, hugging him tightly before letting him go.

“We’ll all be safe. Now, my dearest nephew, go on your journey. We’ll be here.”

Zuko smiled, he bowed toward his uncle with the flame in his hands before turning around, walking away from his uncle and leaving him alone of the deck. Iroh smiled, breathing out a nervous sigh as he watched his nephew, before he turned as well, walking back into the hull of the ship.

**Author's Note:**

> eyyy, we're back!
> 
> i'm still working on my other bg story, but i really felt in the mood to write for this one toay. I've already written out the majority of the next part in this series, but it'll take another few days to come out. finally, zuko is heading back to the forest and is going to see aang again, but you'll see what happens next chapter. :)
> 
> feel free to comment your thoughts below!
> 
> and if you'd like to see updates on writing or just my dumb ramblings, check out my tumblr! (@lemonyellowlogic)


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